House Magnar
General House Magnar of Kingshouse is the principle House of Skagos in the Kingdom of the North. It is located on the island of Skagos at the edge of the Bay of Seals. They are the principle House of the chain of islands which include most notably Skagos and Skane. House Magnar are the current Wardens and High Lords of Skagos. They are also known by raiding aliases, given that Queen Allyria Stark granted them sole raiding rights to the lands Beyond the Wall and Essos. House Magnar is one of the only three Stoneborn Houses in existence, the other two being House Stane of Driftwood Hall and House Crowl of Deepdown. House Magnar is the strongest of these three Houses military and economically. House Magnar is situated on the south side of Skagos, but encompasses the intersection between the two headlands that each of the other Houses populate. This gives them a larger border to defend but also means that for House Skane and House Crowl to trade by land, they have to cross through House Magnar's territory, which gives House Magnar a trade advantage. This geographic positioning gave rise to their supremacy within the Stoneborn Houses. History In the year 400, Grimnir Magnar - then Grimnir Snow - broke the millennia-long prohibition on Skagosi that outlawed them from sailing the seas. Skagosi had sailed in that time, but if they were found to have done so, Skagos would have been invaded, as was the decree of Brandon IX. Grimnir Magnar sailed to the aid of Queen Allyria Stark against the self-proclaimed Red King of the Boltons who rose against the Starks. This was the first time in essentially all of known history that a Skagosi had sailed to the aid of a Stark. Before this point their history had been of raiding the North and subsequently being denied access to the seas, with only one recorded rebellion. That rebellion lasted between 5 and 7 years, costing thousands of lives, 200 years ago. Under these conditions, the population of Skagos had struggled to survive in such a desolate place, reverting to cannibalism at times. Grimnir Magnar took the opportunity to perhaps lessen the suffering of his people by taking the initiative and sailing to the aid of Queen Allyria Stark. His service and assistance were noted to the point that he managed to secure a meeting with the Queen alone. There, he laid bare the conditions of Skagos, the suffering of his people and the root of that coming from ancient Starks. Queen Allyria, in her wisdom, saw that if the decree was revised in a different form, the Skagosi would be loyal until death for this change by her hand. She ruled the decree of Brandon IX over, allowing Skagosi to once again sail and sustain themselves without resorting to cannibalism. In the same stroke, she outlawed the practice. In return for this kindness, she charged House Magnar to assist the Night's Watch and to raid Beyond the Wall, with sole rights to do so at their own discretion. As House Magnar had show the initiative and was humble enough to bow at her feet, Queen Allyria Stark appointed House Magnar as principal House of Skagos. This made Lord Magnar the High Lord of Skagos, to hold vassalage of the less compliant Houses of Skagos. She also charged him as the Warden of Skagos, to protect it from outside aggression and govern it on behalf of the Kingdom of the North. For his candor, the Queen legitimised Grimnir Snow to Grimnir Magnar, as he had been the one acting on behalf of his sickly Lord father. Shortly after returning to Skagos, Grimnir Magnar organised the creation of the Thanes of the Crimson Tree. Additionally, settlers were brought to Skane and the other islands around Skagos. Building efforts were started, beginning with docks and then onto rebuilding Kingshouse. Grimnir Magnar peacefully assumed the High Lordship of Skagos and Lordship of Kingshouse from his father Sven Magnar. Sven had been ill for a long time, which owed to his infertility. Being too sick to participate in any of the recent history of House Magnar, Grimnir assumed leadership of the House until when and if his father recovered. Culture The Stoneborn (or Skagosi or Skagossons) differ culturally to the other Northmen significantly. Shielded from outside influence for thousands of years due to stalwart isolationism, the Stoneborn are effectively a time capsule of the Old North. In many ways the Stoneborn, including the Magnars, have as much common with Wildlings as Northmen, but would never consider themselves as Wildlings. However, this even visible difference can render Stoneborn discriminated against at times, being derisively called "Skaggs". They have a deep respect and military tradition of service for the Night's Watch, given their direct proximity to the Wall, fuelled by the undiluted stories of the monsters beyond. Kingshouse is hewn into the rock of Skagos. The ancient First Men tradition of the "first night" is allegedly still practiced there. For a long time cannibalism was practised for the people to subsist in such a harsh place in bad times. However recently Queen Allyria Stark outlawed this practice as a condition of their freedom. Appearance Physically, the Stoneborn are distinct to both Wildlings and Northmen, despite having direct lineage to the First Men. They are said by Maesters to have blood which is related the Ibbenese or even giants. This is present in their above-average height and dark skin, despite the icy climate. The mother tongue of the Magnars and Skagosi is the Old Tongue of the First Men. A species of giant goat is native to the island of Skagos, which have been dubbed "unicorns" due to the large horn that protrudes from their head. They are rare and kept exclusively by the nobles. Skagosi appear superficially similar to the Ibbenese, with broad shoulders and chests. Their arms are long, while their legs are shorter and thicker than average. They have sloping brows with heavy ridges, small sunken eyes, great square teeth, and massive jaws. However, unlike the shorter Ibbenese , Maesters have described Skagosi as also "partially descended from giants". I.E. they maintain their height as either average or above on the whole. This is likely due to the protein-based diet and active lifestyle, grown on seafood and "unicorn" meat. Additionally, Skagosi are known to have First Men blood. Economy The economy of the Magnars is self contained, in line with the isolationist policies of the Stoneborn Houses. They trade in dragonglass, unicorn horns, pelts and marine goods - such as seals, fish and crustaceans. Other than Dragonstone, Skagos is the only other place in Westeros known to have deposits of dragonglass. They were recently granted access to the oceans once again. This has led to a massive uplift in resource abundance and trade to Skagos. Building efforts are underway and raiding parties are expected to bring in additional wealth and funding. Related Pages Thanes of the Crimson Tree Grimnir Magnar Category:Noble Houses